The Old Testament – Book of Jeremiah I: The Rules Change with the Times (Bye Bye Exodus International)

Posted on July 8, 2013 by virgowriter

In the mid-nineties, as I was coming out, I learned out a “religious” organization that could “cure” gay people. I was so troubled by this group, I wrote a book that centered on such a group (That book, Regret: http://amzn.to/19n1R5G, came out in 2007). This group, supposedly acting in accord with Biblical teachings, worked to “turn gays straight.” Shockingly, people bought into this. Sadly, a lot of perfectly sane, healthy individuals had their lives ruined with this brainwashing.

On June 20th, Exodus International closed up shop. They went even further than shuttering its 260 ministries across the US; Alan chambers, the organization’s president, turned an about face on the idea that homosexuality could be cured. He even apologized for the “pain and trauma the organization inflicted on people” (http://lat.ms/12YKs4n).

I don’t know which parts of the Bible this group was inspired by, but if they were looking in the Old Testament, perhaps Leviticus or even parts of Genesis (misinterpreted, naturally). But perhaps in their Bible study they finally got to the Book of Jeremiah.

The Book of Jeremiah sees some new material finally, with the first mention of hell, for example. Then there God’s reckoning foretold (over and over and over). You just wish God would wipe these people out already or do something else. Most striking in this book, however, is the earth shifting idea that the old rules/laws get thrown out in favor of new ones, ones more in tune with the people.

For the new material it’s interesting to read, Hell surfaces. It’s a bit of a letdown, however; Maybe the concept hadn’t been fleshed out yet?  I was hoping for some detailed description of the heat, etc. Here, it’s merely mentioned as a destination (17:13). More interesting than the mentioning of hell is the overhaul of how long a family has to pay for sins.  Previously, sons and their sons got stuck with dad’s sins. But Jeremiah corrects this one. Now people paid for their own sins (31:30). Which seems fair.

But in the face of these ideas rests the CONSTANT repeating of God’s reckoning that will befall the Israelites (1:16; 4:6-7, 20; 5:31; 6:1, 12, 19, 21; 7:20, 32-34; 9:11, 25-26; 10:22). It comes up more often, but the number of times should make the point: okay, we get it, something’s coming. But after a while, if you heard the same thing this many times and saw no evidence, how much stock would you put in the warning? I get that that’s not the point, but still. Let me know RIGHT before it’s going to happen or don’t bother, especially if I can’t do anything to change it.

But perhaps more interesting than that is the mention of tossing out the old rules in general and replacing them with more relevant (or easier to abide by?) rules. So here are the ways the Israelites can be better people: deal with each other justly; don’t oppress aliens, orphans or widows; don’t shed innocent blood in the lord’s house (probably meaning no sacrifices); and don’t follow other gods (7:6).  Seems like a reasonable list (and exactly like the rules around for some time at this point—with a few trimmed), so what’s the new set look like?

Well, it seems that the new covenant the lord is making with the Israelites includes writing the law in their minds and on their hearts (31:33). It appears God has rethought His previous set of life guidelines—too much trouble for these people to follow?  Asking too much?—and has instead created a broader, all-inclusive guideline: use your reason and compassion to determine what is right (specifically, he “put [his] law in their minds and [wrote] it on their hearts”).

Why this passage is not invoked more often is beyond me.  How can people look to older portions of the Bible—Leviticus, let’s say—as word of law and skip this.  Clearly, this proposes fine tuning laws so they are more in touch with the people of the era. Instead of rigid laws, new ones that stem from common sense and compassion. This means that what worked back then is not what stands now.

I pray that more organizations like Exodus International see the light on their stance (and hatred) for homosexuality. Seems like the Angry god has turned a corner, and the compassionate god I’ve heard so much about has emerged. It’s about time.  I was starting to think he’d never show up. Sort of like a relief pitcher coming in for the tired, worn-out starter.

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The Old Testament: Isaiah III – The Suffering Servant Foretold (Jesus as the Bible’s Boba Fett)

Posted on July 6, 2013 by virgowriter

I’m a huge Star Wars fan, and like most fans (and even casual watchers of these films), I was disappointed when The Phantom Menace was released in 1999.  How this film could have lived up to the hype and pressure is beyond me, but I still wished a number of things had been handled differently. Still, I cut George Lucas some slack—after all, it had been a LONG time since he directed a movie and he was likely a bit rusty.  So when 2002’s Attack of the Clones hit theaters, I had dialed down my expectations.

The movie was better than the previous film, but one of the things that drove me and a close friend of mine crazy was the inclusion of Boba Fett (as a child, no less) and his father, Jango Fett. As characters they’re fine, but their insertion as a major plot point of episodes 2-6 (yes, their inclusion impacts the original trilogy) suggested that Lucas, in devising the layout of the films, had intended for these two characters to be a part of the story all along.

Well, he fudged a few things. Brief history: Boba Fett appeared in the fabled star Wars Christmas special as a cartoon vignette (you can watch a part of it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM_MR7sY2_8). This character became so popular that he was written into the next two films (The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi).

Since Fett’s popularity has endured, perhaps Lucas felt the need to milk that interest in the prequel films; thus, more Fett! But the films should have been able to stand on their own without so much reliance on a popular (albeit minor) character to goose interest (or continuity, for that matter).

In Isaiah, the prophet foretells of a “Suffering Servant.” In some instances, this idea is cast as a nation—Israel being the servant that will bring God’s word to the other nations (49:3). This idea is nothing new, for the idea of Israel being selected is the thrust of the Old Testament. Elsewhere, however, this idea is embodied in a man, and the way he’s described, it’s clearly Jesus (53:1-5). As such, it’s hard not to see Jesus as the Old Testament’s Boba Fett.

This Servant “was despised  and rejected by men…and familiar with suffering” (3). “Then: “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God. […] But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (4-5). There’s more of what he endured, and how blameless he was, yet still punished, and by the Lord’s will, no less (8-10).

I haven’t reached the New Testament yet, but from what I know, this describes the end of Jesus’ life, right?

So what makes this feel forced here? One could argue that this hasn’t surfaced yet because it was unclear that Israel (and others) hadn’t fallen so far yet; therefore, the need for such a figure (Jesus) did not exist. Okay, but God knows all. So he had to know that Israel would mess up—he sees everything. But someone might say: but wait, man has free will. But people all along have seen the destruction of Jerusalem, so this was clear. And if it was clear, the idea that someone—like the rebirth of Jerusalem before his birth—would come along and redeem man. And if so, why wasn’t it known all along? They were waiting for so many other things to prove true.

Sure, Jesus is a bit more important to the New Testament than Boba Fett is to the Star Wars films; however, the issue is forcing a character into a narrative in order to boost relevance. Isn’t his story strong enough on its own?

 

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The Old Testament: Isaiah II – God’s Reckoning Foretold (over and over)

Posted on July 3, 2013 by virgowriter

I am easily scared.  I avoid scary movies for this reason—something in a startling image gets seared into my brain and I often see it when my mind won’t quit when it’s midnight and I have an early morning ahead of me.  Why this didn’t keep me from watching the Exorcist in high school with three friends is beyond me—I still have nightmares.

Stories can have a similar effect on me, although it takes someone who really knows how to tell a story to make it stick.  I was most susceptible when I was a kid. Especially if I heard it over and over.

Turns out, you say something enough times and you make people afraid. A friend of the family, a guy my older brother’s age, loved to tell ghost stories that were supposedly real.  One of his favorites: there was this girl, right, and she was babysitting this young boy.  Late at night—maybe 10—she hears a noise from upstairs. No big deal. Then she hears it again, accompanied by what she thinks sounds like a stifled scream. Cautiously, she treks up stairs clutching the handrail for dear life. And when she reaches the boy’s room—the door ajar—she watches as a dark shadow whisks the toddler out the window.  She screamed and then ran for the phone to call the police.  Turns out—once the police arrived—that this entity had taken a few children in the neighborhood, and all kids from rooms late at night. What did these kids have in common? Nothing, except their young age and the fact that none of the windows—through which witnesses said the thing escaped—were opened or had even moved.

The friend seemed to enjoy the effect these stories had on me, as these are the kinds of stories that encouraged me to sleep with my light on.

The Book of Isaiah may not have ghost stories in it, but it sure has its share of bleak warnings that get repeated so often, you might understand why people back then—and some even now—cower before the idea that God is about to get medieval on the earth.

Purportedly written by the prophet in 8 b.c., Isaiah is a step backwards in the Bible—we’ve read what happens after—but it serves to convey Isaiah’s prophecy’s about all that will happen to Israel and her enemies. Amongst these nuggets of wisdom is the idea of God’s wrathful reckoning, for which everyone must be prepared.

You’d think you could cover this with a strong enough impression to make it stick.  But no.  It comes up over and over.  Perhaps people weren’t convinced, but on repeat people started to think, well, maybe… This is how people get brainwashed, yes?

In 2011, a few news outlets were in Times Square covering Robert Fitzpatrick, a man who was getting ready for the rapture—the Bible says God is coming to wipe out everyone on Dec. 21st, 2012. He believed this because Harold Crimping, a Christian Radio broadcaster who served as his Bible teacher, said so.  This prediction inspired Fitzpatrick to spend $140,000 to spread Camping’s Bible prediction. (The sad part of the story was not the level at which the man believed, it’s the level at which that preacher had drained this man’s retirement account.)   Armed with the date and time, he was feeling rather sorry for those who had yet to repent (check out the full story here: http://www.ibtimes.com/harold-campings-disciple-robert-fitzpatrick-reacts-doomsday-false-alarm-video-644220).

The camera filmed his confused and crestfallen expression when that time came and went without any fire and brimstone. How could this have not been true?

Look, just because someone repeats a story—or fact, detail, etc.—over and over, doesn’t make it true.  All that tends to happen is that people get convinced and then their imagination runs wild. Not to mention: there is an element of the boy who cried wolf here. When exactly is it happening? Oh, it’s on its way.  Is it here yet? Trust me, it’s coming, and it’s going to be bad… To put it a different way, this is the kid in the back seat on a road trip, the one who constantly pesters dad about if they are there yet.

Thankfully, I’m old enough to know what I should avoid, based on its impact on me—I still avoid horror or slasher movies, for example. This only becomes an the issue if you haven’t learned what often repeated information is dangerous for you.

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